Marine protected areas in Europe & Central Asia
Europe & Central Asia: Marine protected areas was 8.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Marine protected areas in Europe & Central Asia, 2013–2025
Source: Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM), UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring. Measured in % of territorial waters.
Analysis
In 2025, marine protected areas in Europe & Central Asia stood at 8.7%. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
The figure is up 4.7% on the previous year and up 90.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, marine protected areas in Europe & Central Asia peaked at 8.7% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 4.0%, in 2013.
Europe & Central Asia ranks 17th of 47 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Marine protected areas in Europe & Central Asia, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 4.0% | — |
| 2014 | 4.4% | +9.4% |
| 2015 | 4.6% | +4.3% |
| 2016 | 5.4% | +17.8% |
| 2017 | 6.6% | +22.3% |
| 2018 | 6.9% | +5.7% |
| 2019 | 7.3% | +4.7% |
| 2020 | 8.0% | +10.0% |
| 2021 | 8.5% | +6.2% |
| 2022 | 8.5% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 8.1% | -4.9% |
| 2024 | 8.3% | +2.4% |
| 2025 | 8.7% | +4.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5.6% | 4.0% | 7.3% | 7 |
| 2020s | 8.3% | 8.0% | 8.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Europe & Central Asia
- 14 Netherlands 33.5% compare
- 15 Seychelles 32.6% compare
- 16 Northern Mariana Islands 32.4% compare
- 17 New Zealand 30.4% compare
- 18 Costa Rica 28.4% compare
- 19 Denmark 27.1% compare
- 20 Gabon 26.8% compare
More climate change data for Europe & Central Asia
- Population growth 0.4% (2025)
- Population, total 932.52 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.6% (2025)
- Urban population 690.74 million (2025)
- Urban population 74.1% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 21.3% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 476.01 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 6.7% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 15.9% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 13.2% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is marine protected areas in Europe & Central Asia?
- Marine protected areas in Europe & Central Asia was 8.7% in 2025, according to Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM), UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring.
- What is the highest marine protected areas recorded in Europe & Central Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 8.7% in 2025.
- What is the lowest marine protected areas recorded in Europe & Central Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.0% in 2013.
- How does Europe & Central Asia rank for marine protected areas?
- Europe & Central Asia ranks 17th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is marine protected areas rising or falling in Europe & Central Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 90.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Europe & Central Asia data come from?
- The figures come from Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM), UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring, published as part of Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Marine protected areas are areas of intertidal or subtidal terrain--and overlying water and associated flora and fauna and historical and cultural features--that have been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or all of the enclosed environment.